Bill Gates and Satya Nadella.
Bill Gates and Satya Nadella. (Microsoft File Photo)

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and its CEO Satya Nadella will headline a conference in Vancouver, B.C. next week with an emphasis on Seattle and Vancouver working together to become an “innovation hub.”

The event, called the Emerging Cascadia Corridor Conference, is set for Monday and Tuesday at the Fairmont Hotel. Seattle and Vancouver are separated by an international border but they are really quite similar. Both boast highly scenic backdrops, have access to top Asian markets and are tech hubs. Leaders on both sides have pushed for Seattle and Vancouver to work together more.

The conference will also have sessions on government leadership, education, transportation and investment. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark will also speak at the invitation-only event.

Microsoft has been a big proponent of the Cascadia corridor. In June, the company opened a development center in downtown Vancouver, and at the time Microsoft President Brad Smith said he hoped the new facility would start a movement towards a “Cascadia high tech corridor.” Smith will speak at the conference, and the welcoming event will be at the new Microsoft facility.

“We want to also start talking about and really investing in this region not just as a single city or one important country but as a corridor that actually connects two big important cities and two countries,” Smith said in June.

GeekWire will be there to bring you all the details from Gates, Nadella and everything else going on.

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